Gregori girls open CCAL play with 18-point win over Pitman
Gregori High girls basketball head coach Marissa Shull bulked up the team’s preseason schedule in anticipation of a big season that starts with a group of seniors that has chemistry after playing together for four years.
They played nonleague games against state Division II regional semifinalist Lincoln-Stockton, Tracy, state Division II regional finalist Antelope and other 2022 playoff teams.
“We kind of amped our schedule up knowing that we had some talent this year,” said the coach, who is in her eighth season. “We have a group of eight seniors that have played together for four years now. We’ve had some tough games we’ve gone through. We’re playing some tough games and we’re winning some and we’re losing some and we’re growing more competitive this year, which is really fun.”
All of that was in preparation for what the team hopes will be its third Central California Athletic League title.
The Jaguars (11-8) went 8-1 in the shortened COVID-19 spring season and tied with Pitman High (1-17) for a share of the league title last year.
After a 10-8 non-league schedule, Gregori tipped off league play Tuesday night against the Pride. After a back-and-forth first quarter, the Jaguars used a dominant second quarter to propel them to a 58-40 win.
Gregori put intense defensive pressure on Pitman all night, something Shull knew she could do with the team she had this year.
At the start of the season, she had wanted the team to pressure opponents full court.
“We wanted to do full court, but we’ve had to adjust to our kids,” she said. “We tried it and we … had to make the adjustment early.”
Instead, they rely on a half-court trap that forced the Pride into 24 turnovers Tuesday. The defense translates to easier baskets on offense.
“Defense is our key right now, that’s what we’re really focused on,” Shull said. “We like to transition (on offense). Our ultimate goal is to get the ball in transition and score.”
Senior Sara Davis scored six points in the first quarter, which ended with the Jaguars up, 18-14. A 16-2 run midway through the second quarter powered them to a 36-22 halftime lead.
They opened up a 20-point lead, their largest of the game, with two minutes left in the third quarter and ended it ahead by 18.
“Our chemistry is great,” said Davis, who scored a game-high 15 points and added six rebounds. “We know how everybody plays, so when we need to pass the ball, we know where everybody’s gonna be and it really just translates to buckets.”
The Pride returned just four players from last year’s team and are growing up quickly as they gain more varsity experience.
After entering the fourth quarter in an 18-point hole, they made a defensive change and opened the final frame on an 8-0 run to cut the Gregori lead to 10.
“We went back to our press,” said first-year coach Parmine Randhawa. “We were down going into the fourth quarter and I looked at my assistant and was like, ‘We got to change it up.’ It’s hard to make a run when we sit back in our zone. I couldn’t tell you the last time we pressed.”
Junior Liz Webb led the Pride with 10 points while freshman Dailynn Greener and senior Megha Saini added nine and eight, respectively.
Ten points is as close as it got in the fourth as the experienced Gregori team opened up a 54-38 lead with less than three minutes left.
They sealed their first league win at the free-throw line.
“I think it was really important for us,” Davis said of starting CCAL play 1-0. “We’ve been kind of up and down in the preseason and we just had to make sure that we came out strong and really set the tone that we were going to be the team to beat. We just kind of just let everybody know that we’re here to play.”
Both teams continue league play Thursday with home games as the Jaguars host Downey and Pitman plays Modesto.
Girls Basketball
Millennium 36, Big Valley Christian 34: The Lions dropped their Central California Athletic Alliance game to the Falcons Tuesday night. They will look to bounce back Friday as they host Venture Academy.
Hughson 53, Riverbank 49: The Huskies took over sole possession of first place in the Trans-Valley League with a win Tuesday over the Bruins. Hughson senior Olivia Fiveash led the team with 20 points, six rebounds and five assists. Two of Riverbank’s three losses this season came to Hughson. The Huskies have won seven straight games, including their first three league games..
Ripon Christian at Livingston: The game canceled due to rain and is rescheduled for Monday, Jan. 23 at 5:30 p.m. (JV) and 7 p.m. (Varsity)
Escalon 48, Ripon 36: The Cougars won their second straight TVL game Tuesday, handing Ripon its second league loss. Escalon is scheduled to visit Livingston on Thursday while Ripon looks to improve its league record to .500 on the road against Hughson.
East Union 68, Central Catholic 37: The Raiders fell to 0-2 in Valley Oak League play and dropped their third game in a row.
Lathrop 69, Beyer 51: A seven-point third quarter from Beyer helped Lathrop extend its 14-point halftime lead to 27. Though the Patriots outscored the Spartans in the fourth, the deficit was already too large.
Buhach Colony at Central Valley: The game was canceled due to rain. A reschedule date has yet to be set.
Pacheco 48, Davis 28: The Spartans fell to 0-4 in Western Athletic Conference play Tuesday. Davis has lost its last five games and will look for its first win since mid-December on Thursday against Johansen.
Turlock 54, Modesto 23: The Bulldogs bounced back from a non-league loss against Sonora with a CCAL victory over Modesto. Turlock brings its win total to eight games and will host Enochs on Thursday. Modesto falls to 6-5 and travels to Pitman on Thursday.
Johansen 47, Ceres 37: The Vikings overcame a slow first half, evening their league record at 2-2 with a win Tuesday over Ceres. Alize Martinez notched a triple double with 22 points, 11 rebounds and 10 blocks.
Kimball 44, Oakdale 30: The Jaguars earned their second VOL win Tuesday. Oakdale fell to 1-10 at home while Kimball advanced to 10-1.
Enochs 41, Downey 40: A 19-point first quarter helped the Eagles narrowly escape a Downey team looking for a comeback league win. Holly Reese led Enochs with 19 points, including six three pointers. The Eagles and Knights both play road league games Thursday against Turlock and Gregori, respectively.
This story was originally published January 11, 2023 at 11:38 AM.
